Venezuela congressional candidate raffles off breast augmentation surgery to fund campaign

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — A Venezuelan politician is holding an unusual raffle to raise campaign cash. The grand prize: breast implants.

For a little under $6 a ticket, donors get the chance to win the pricey operation free of charge.

Breast enlargement is widely popular in image-conscious Venezuela. In recent years as many as 30,000 women have had the operation annually, according to the nation's Plastic Surgery Society.

Gustavo Rojas, who is running as an alternate for the National Assembly in Sept. 26 elections, said there is a great demand for the surgery.

The prize for his fund-raising effort may be a little unusual, Rojas conceded Friday, but he said it's like raffling off a TV set or a telephone.